A kosher restaurant in Paris was destroyed overnight on Thursday by vandals who sprayed Nazi swastikas and antisemitic slogans including “Hitler was right” and “Free Palestine” on its floors and walls.
The managers of Mac Queen — a kosher burger joint on Rue Manin in the 19th arrondissement of the French capital — were confronted by the damage when they arrived at the premises on Friday morning.
Shocked witnesses counted at least ten swastikas and up to 50 antisemitic slogans on the wall, among them “dirty Jew” and “Thieves!” The symbol of the Nazi SS and the letters “FDP” — belonging to the “Front des Patriotes,” a neo-Nazi group — were also scrawled on walls and tables.
The culprits then deliberately flooded the restaurant by tampering with its water supply.
Images of the destruction on social media brought forth heavy condemnation from Jewish leaders and French politicians.
« #JewishPrivilege » un restaurant casher de la rue Manin dans le 19e arrondissement a été saccagé, croix gammés et insultes antisemites peintes sur les murs et sols de l’enseigne. pic.twitter.com/SBSPQvlWA8
— יעקב-חיים (@YaacovGuetta) October 2, 2020
“In France in 2020, eating in a kosher restaurant is now a danger,” tweeted Noemie Madar, chair of the French Union of Jewish Students (EUJF). “Measures must be taken — and quickly.”
In a separate tweet, the French Jewish representative organization CRIF commented acidly that “antisemitism knows no respite.”
“This foul beast strikes on the eve of the Sukkot holiday in the 19th arrondissement,” CRIF declared. “The target? A kosher restaurant with vile graffiti and swastikas. More than ever, we demand the reinforcement of the security of sensitive places.”
Nathalie Goulet, a representative of Paris in the French Senate, called on the country’s interior minister, Gerald Darmanin, to stress a policy of “zero tolerance” toward antisemitism.